Man's home, warehouse raided as part of national DEA operation
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Federal agents in Vancouver, Washington County and at dozens of other locations around the country conducted raids as part of a massive synthetic drug operation on Wednesday.
Both the house and warehouse raided locally belong to Joshua Becker of Tigard. Currently, he's in the Multnomah County Jail, but he'll be headed to Idaho where he's wanted for distributing synthetic drugs.
A Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman said the raid in Vancouver and the one near Tigard on Wednesday morning were part of Operation Log Jam, a nationwide operation targeting synthetic designer drugs.
Those drugs include things often marketed as incense, bath salts and plant food, according to the DEA.
One of the raids was at a warehouse on Northeast 76th Avenue in Vancouver. A KATU reporter saw at least a half-dozen agents removing boxes from the building and putting them in a truck.
The agents asked that we not shoot video or take pictures of their faces.
The second raid happened at Becker's home on Southwest Summerview Drive in Washington County near the Tigard city line.
Chip Hay watched the raid on Becker's warehouse as it went down. Agents hauled away scales, packaging material and dry plants to make synthetic marijuana.
"The bay over there where they did the main raid they emptied – I guess they emptied the whole thing out," he said.
But he also noticed something strange at the warehouse Tuesday night.
"I don't know what was going on. Pallets of boxes they were loading up in a couple of different rigs and taking them out of here," he said.
People who live next door to Becker in an upscale neighborhood saw another raid.
"We knew that at 4:30 this morning when the bombs went off in the house, and I dropped out of bed fearing for my life," said Jeff Fehr.
And they said they've seen and heard plenty from Becker in the year or so since he moved in.
"We saw something off," said Fehr. "It wasn't good – being outside pacing back and forth, yelling and screaming about business deals. It just wasn't normal."
They've heard about his felony warrant in Idaho, about his "chemist" and about making millions of dollars.
"I've seen people watching the house over the last months," Fehr said. "There have been many calls to the house over the last months. So I knew there was probably something going on."
For Fehr and others in the neighborhood they are happy things have finally quieted down.
"It keeps our families and our kids safe. So thank you to the DEA," Fehr said.
According to federal authorities, Becker has a rap sheet going back to 1999 that includes theft, forgery, fraud, and skipping out on court dates.
Other Operation Log Jam raids happened in almost 100 cities.
DEA spokeswoman Jodie Underwood said she couldn't give us many details about the local raids, although she said there would be a news conference on Thursday in Washington, D.C. about the nationwide operation.
Underwood said members of the public were not in any immediate danger from people connected to these raids.
Dude looks as if he has no clue as to even what's going on. Probably half-baked when he was arrested.
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@feministdolphinbuddha @vwfreak "the agents asked that we not shoot video of thier faces..."Â Â Villians allways want to remain annonomous.
Darn hippies! Â Now they are expanding their "we want all natural, organic, GMO free goods" to our drugs! Â Now they are cracking down on synthetic drugs! Â
oh he is Caucasian :)
I am guessing he was selling fake stuff and passing it off as real now that would be illegal in its own sense. not to mention various plant foods can be poison to to people, there is a no brainer
Are these drugs illegal? Or is this just the feds exercising their over reaching control again?
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Yes, drugs are bad. Most intelligent people know that. But why the giant raids? Are these drugs federally regulated? Has the government deemed them illegal?
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Are they going to raid other "chemists" to see if they are making things that the government doesn't know about or isn't illegal?
 @Owt_Raged They're illegal to ingest. It's a combination of 'legal' herbs, when combined and smoked, give a (not so) similar high to weed. They outlaw one combination, but the ''chemist'' comes up with new ones. IMO, I think it's very dangerous. We have no history on what this stuff might do to people, like we do with weed. The combinations vary greatly in their effects on people. I've seen more than one person come close to calling 911 because they were freaking out (panicking). The buyer never knows what he'll get. The one they bought at the local head shop is gone, and a new version is on the rack. They already have more names than weed strains. People use this to get around employer UA's. Wish they'd legalized weed. At least we know the danger is minimal.
 @Lips I was just amazed that the FBI did all these raids for something that isn't even illegal. Of course that has never stopped the government in the past.
We both know this crap isn't good for you, but it's up to individuals to make a decisions about taking the chances with this crap.
And yeah, if they just legalized weed, we could stop this madness.
 @Owt_Raged Yes they are illegal. Â
This weeks no-neck award goes to......
Hmmm...pacing around, yelling about having a felony warrant, "making millions of dollars" (ha ha), and "chemistry" is real low key...not. Even if it weren't for his criminal antics, it's good news that somebody this bald-butt stupid has been taken out of circulation. No loss to any of us. (Besides, he's got those 'beady, pig eyes' that nobody trusts, and no woman would want to reproduce with. Good riddance!
These "legal" highs are much more dangerous than what they're replicating. The fact that such filth is manufactured in a trap for younger people to fall into.Â
 @on shing dao Agreed, except I don't think that these substances are legal in Oregon anymore.
 @UtterReality The President signed a bill two weeks ago making them illegal everywhere..
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 @NEHUSKER Pretty sad that we need a law that says you can't sell and distribute chemicals meant for your bath water.
I am so happy to see this happening. My son is addicted to this stuff, and my worst fear is that I find him dead someday from it. I have pleaded with him to stop, and tried to get him to realize that no one knows what exactly is in this "spice" crap.
 @jonsiesd2 I'm sorry to hear about your son. I really hope you can help him but it will be an uphill battle. I read stories nearly every day about people on this stuff that harm the people around them. Help your son if you can but please be aware that you need to be concerned about your own safety as well. Good luck to you!
 @jonsiesd2 Failed to teach good lessons as a parent and now trying to control him as an adult? Good luck. The damage is already done and it will be a rough road for this kid. I should know, I'm in a similar situation.
 @Spiffy Wow. On what are you basing your opinion?
@jonsiesd2 Good luck to you and your family.
 @jonsiesd2 My heart goes out to you. A parent's worst nightmare is to have their child do bad things to themselves, or someone else, and not see the harm they are doing to everyone. Good luck in finding peace during this struggle.Â
 @jonsiesd2  I hope he gets the help he needs soon